2025 NFL Draft Order: Patriots No. 1 After Loss to Titans originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Sunday’s Week 9 road game against the Tennessee Titans will be officially considered a loss for the New England Patriots. But it could prove to be a huge win in the long run.
The Patriots forced overtime when rookie quarterback Drake Maye made a great game to evade passers and find running back Rhamondre Stevenson for a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the score 17-17 as time expired in the fourth quarter. New England ultimately lost 20-17 in overtime, but Maye’s ability to lead an impressive drive — and his 95 rushing yards in the game — were an encouraging step forward in his development.
But more importantly for the Patriots, this loss drops their record to 2-7 and, as a result, they have moved into first place in the updated order for the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. entered Week 9 with the No. 3 picka place below the Titans.
The Carolina Panthers’ surprising victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon was a big help to the Patriots from a draft pick positioning standpoint. The Panthers entered Week 9 with the worst record in the league at 1-7.
New England is one of six teams tied at the bottom of the standings with a 2-7 record, but the AFC East franchise owns the tiebreaker with the worst strength of the schedule.
The Patriots have the fifth most difficult remaining schedule the remainder of the season, based on the combined winning percentage (.562) of their last eight opponents.
Here’s a look at the Patriots’ next four opponents before their Week 14 bye.
-
Week 10: with the Chicago Bears
-
Week 11: against the Los Angeles Rams
-
Week 12: to the Miami Dolphins
-
Week 13: against the Indianapolis Colts
Here’s an updated look at the order of the top 10 picks in the 2025 draft. It will be updated through the end of Week 9 as other games conclude.
1. New England Patriots, 2-7 (0.469 strength)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-7 (.490)
3. New Orleans Saints, 2-7 (.500)
4. Carolina Panthers, 2-7 (.510)
5. Las Vegas Raiders, 2-7 (.514)
6. Cleveland Browns, 2-7 (.517)
7. New York Giants, 2-7 (.538)
8. Miami Dolphins, 2-6
9. Tennessee Titans, 2-6
10. New York Jets, 3-6
